- Start with 2 teams of 2 or more players. Place 4 cups on either side of a rectangular table, and 3 along each side. Add water to the 8 cups on either end.
- Throw balls into the cups on the opposite end of the table. The first cup represents first base, and so on, where the 4th cup represents a home run, worth one point.
- Switch sides from offense to defense after recording three outs. Play as many innings as you want, and tally up points as you go.
Set-up
Assemble 2 teams of 2 or more players. You’ll need at least 4 players for baseball, but the ideal number is 8 divided into teams of 4 players each. You can certainly exceed 8 as well, but with more than 4 people per team, it isn’t possible for everyone to be involved in the action at the same time.
Have ping-pong balls ready. You need at least 1 ping-pong ball to play, but 3 is an optimal number to have on hand.
Select a long, rectangular table to be the playing surface. If you have a dedicated beer pong table, that’s great, but any table will do as long as you have enough space to set up the cups.
Place 4 cups at each end of the table and 3 along each side. You need a minimum of 14 disposable cups, but we recommend you have extra cups. Place 4 cups in a straight line centered at each end of the table. Then, along each side of the table, place 3 cups at even intervals.
Fill the 8 cups at the ends of the table with water. ¼-½ full is fine—just enough to stabilize the cups and prevent them from being easily knocked over during the game. For cleanliness, don't drink from these cups on the edge of the table, as you will be attempting to shoot the ball into these cups, and the ball can get a bit gross throughout the game. Additionally, by filling these cups with water, you’ll avoid any bothersome stickiness on the ball.
Fill the 6 cups along the side of the table with the drink of your choice. Drink responsibly, choosing beverages and quantities that all players feel comfortable consuming. The game is still plenty entertaining and challenging even without alcohol!
Determine home and away teams to know who will bat or play defense first. The away team will be on offense first, but the home team will be on offense last, meaning they will have the opportunity to come from behind or break a tie to win at the end of the game.
Position your defense at your cups. The team on defense will position a player at each cup on their right side of the table and one behind the end of the table. Switch positions every inning so that all your teammates can experience different roles. If there are less than 4 players, defenders will have to cover more than one position.
Gameplay
Throw balls into the cups on the opposite end of the table. Like in baseball, offensive players bat, attempting to earn hits and get on base. Unlike baseball though, batters in this game stand behind their end of the table and attempt to land the ball into one of the 4 cups on their opponent’s side. If their ball lands in the first cup, they hit a single and advance to 1st base: the first cup on their right. If their ball lands in the second cup, they hit a double and advance to 2nd base: the second cup on their right. If their ball lands in the third cup, they hit a triple and advance to 3rd base: the third cup on their right. Finally, if their ball lands in the fourth cup, they hit a home run and score 1 point—known as a run—for their team! When a batter records a hit, defenders alternate drinking from their cup.
Record outs if the batter misses the cups. If a batter misses the cups 3 times or misses the table completely 1 time, they are out and the next player on their team comes to bat. If a ball bounces off a cup, and the catcher catches it before it hits the table or floor, the batter is also out. If you’d like to add a bit of challenge, you can stipulate that catches can only be made with your non-dominant hand (the hand where you’d wear a glove in baseball).
When on base, advance the same number of bases as your teammates’ hits. Move from cup to cup to run the bases and score.
Steal bases by winning in flip cup. To advance bases faster and score more runs for your team, players can also attempt to steal a base while their teammate is batting. To steal a base, baserunners must beat defenders in a game of flip cup. The runner begins the steal attempt at any time by picking up and drinking their cup, then placing it back on the edge of the table and attempting to flip it so that it lands upside-down on the table. The defender across from the runner attempts to do the same. If the defender successfully flips their cup first, they have caught the runner stealing and they are out. If the runner successfully flips their cup first, they advance one base.
Finishing the Game
Switch sides from offense to defense after recording three outs. Once both teams have batted and recorded three outs, you have completed an inning. You can play as many or as few innings as is fun for your group. Whenever you decide to stop, be sure it is at the end of an inning so the home team has an equal opportunity to score runs.
Tally the final score to determine the winners. The team with the most runs at the end of the game wins. If that’s you, congrats! If not, we’re sure you’ll get them next time!
Show courtesy to your opponents before starting play. To play a fair game, confirm that everyone is ready and base cups are filled before attempting to hit or steal. Regularly note the score, the number of outs, and the number of attempts a batter has remaining—especially after a pause.
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